Helping you help people get good jobs

If you're interested in re-entry programs for ex-offenders, you'll want to watch the YouTube video below, and check out resources available on the Joyce Foundation website. Joyce is putting some serious money into studying the problems of re-entry and recidivism (see this earlier post about MDRC's Joyce-funded work), and to developing effective solutions. In particular, Joyce is taking a close look at transitional jobs, a model that offers subsidized employment combined with supportive services, as one promising solution. The video below is about a transitional jobs program at Chicago's Safer Foundation, from local station WTTW (7 mins 32 sec).

According to MDRC, the answer is, we don't really know. Their most recent Issue Brief summarizes a report by staff researcher Dan Bloom that analyzed existing research on employment programs and prisoner re-entry. He found few rigorous studies of employment-based prisoner re-entry models, and that the results of those studies have been less than clear. There is some evidence that programs for older prisoners, services that integrate services before and after release, and models involving financial incentives may work. However, much more research is needed before we can definitively say that we know what works.

Here's a startling fact from the report: Most offenders are employed at the time of their arrest. This raises the question of whether ex-offenders' notably poor employment outcomes after leaving prison are a result of prejudice and regulatory or other barriers to employment, or does something happen in prison that makes them less employable? As Bloom states, "In sum, many people enter the criminal justice system hard to employ and leave it even harder to employ."

There's great interest among policymakers and the public about what can be done to reduce recidivism among ex-offenders. I certainly saw that in evidence at the Road to Re-entry conference earlier this year, where employment-based programs were highlighted as the key to success. Still, this was presented as a policy mandate, with little hard evidence about what types of programs work, which supports Bloom's research findings.

At the same time, Bloom points out there is significant underlying skepticism about the efficacy of rehabilitation efforts. Nonetheless, incarceration costs are so high and growing so dramatically that even small reductions in recidivism could have measurable positive budgetary savings that outweigh the cost of providing those services.

Bloom prepared his report for a conference last November at the National Poverty Center at the U of Michigan. (Tip: if you've never visited the NPC site, check it out. It has an amazing array of research papers and conference proceedings on poverty, welfare and employment.)

MDRC is currently involved in two studies of employment-based prisoner re-entry programs, an evaluation of the Center for Employment Opportunities and the Transitional Jobs Reentry Demonstration project (jointly with the Joyce Foundation). Perhaps through these studies we can learn more about what works, which will help us in the workforce development field develop better tools for the estimated 600,000 prisoners released from prison every year in the U.S.

Just last month, Washington governor Christine Gregoire signed into law a bill requiring all offenders leaving prison to have a plan for employment and treatment prior to their release. The intent of SB 6157 is to reduce recidivism. Here's how the gov put it in her press release:

"We cannot continue to build more prisons. We must address the causes
of crime and give former offenders the skills and treatment they need
to stay out of prison," said Governor Gregoire. "Our goal must be to
stop crime and keep our communities safe."

Workforce development for ex-prisoners in the federal system was the focus of the Road to Re-Entry conference I blogged earlier this year. With some 750,000 prison inmates and juvenile detainees expected to be released this year, this is an enormous issue for every city and state in the country (more stats can be found at this federal Bureau of Justice page). If we don't spend money to help them find good jobs where they can support themselves and their families, we'll have to spend money to house them in prison.

I heard an interview on NPR yesterday with a former prisoner who was released after nearly eighteen years serving a life sentence, when DNA evidence exonerated him. What struck me in the interview was how he's learning that he doesn't have the skills to land a decent job. In some cases he doesn't have the computer skills he needs to apply for a job if it requires an online job application. Job skills training for prisoners while they're in prison and beyond is an absolute necessity.

Ever since I blogged the Road to Re-entry Conference in March, I've been getting tons of hits every day on this blog from people searching phrases like "companies that hire felons" or "association for ex inmates" or "prisoner re-entry." There's so much interest in this topic, I'd like to ask readers to share your thoughts, ideas and resources. Including,

Did you find what you were looking for, either on this blog or another website?

Where can readers find good information online?

What are you looking for that you can't find online?

Data from the US Department of Justice (see the table to the right) shows that in 2005 there were more than 7 million people in prison, jail, probation or parole, and the numbers are rising. Clearly, re-entry of prisoners is an enormous issue and all of us will have to work together to ensure more successes than failures. I'd like to be able to provide more information with readers on this blog. To share your ideas and resources, just click on the comments below.

Title for this post is borrowed from a session at the Road to Re-Entry conference. Cindy Villarreal, Kelli Martinez and Amy Gulley - all of whom work with offenders in Kansas - gave very practical, hands-on advice for addressing the barriers ex-offenders face in getting jobs. Some of the issues:

Talking about a felony conviction during a job interview

Creating a resume if you have little or no formal work experience

Dealing with behavior that helped you survive prison, but creates problems in the workplace

Martinez highlighted incentives for employers to hire ex-offenders, including the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which gives tax credits to employers who hire eight types of employees, and the federal bonding program, which provides free fidelity bonds for certain at-risk employees. They report both programs are underutilized and most employers don't know about them.

Villareal and Gulley provided terrific examples of their work and handouts. They work with inmates to create portfolios that they can use in applying for jobs, once they've left prison. I heard about these portfolios in other sessions at the conference. Note to one-stop staff and others: if you discover a client you're serving is an ex-offender, ask if he or she worked on such a portfolio while in prison.

This session and their materials was one answer to a complaint I've had about how advice columns and books for workers tend to focus too much on white collar workers and professionals (see here and here). The advice they offered was more for the types of workers we in the workforce development field see on a daily basis. If you're interested in learning more, I'd recommend contacting these folks.

How hard could it really be for corrections to partner with the workforce development community? Very. But speakers at this morning's workshop say it was worth the effort. Gwynne Cunningham is Director of Specialized Programs in Virginia Department of Correctional Education, a stand-alone state agency not housed in either the education or corrections departments. Marietta Salyer is with the Virginia Employment Commission. They're part of a team of people from all over the corrections, human services, criminal justice and CBO communities in the state that joined together in 2003 to create the state’s Offender Workforce Development Partnership.

Based on what I've seen at this conference so far, their partnership is unique. It's a comprehensive effort to make sure offenders get as much as they can while in prison that will prepare them for re-entry into the community, with an emphasis on employment. Although there are a host of issues they deal with, they are currently focusing on three key barriers to employment for former felons:

Cunningham says the first two years of the partnership involved everyone at the table learning what everyone else was doing. How do you get people together who don't realize they’re all working on the same thing? Salyer spent a lot of time explaining the Workforce Investment Act to others at the table. Everyone wanted to improve outcomes for ex-offenders, and each partner had one piece of the puzzle. They made sure they had everyone from line staff to administrators to ex-offenders on the team. They also did research to map out exactly where offenders were re-entering the community. Lots of people on the team were surprised: They live in my neighborhood?

After her experience on this committee, Salyer believes Corrections should be a mandated partner on workforce boards. She sends staff from the Petersburg Career One-Stop once a week into the local prison to provide employment services to offenders. Both she and Cunningham work on bringing employers into the prisons for activities like job fairs and mock job interviews. Nearly everyone they talk to about going into the prison from employers to One-Stop staff initially is resistant about going into the facility. But once they meet the inmates and realize they’re much like everyone else in the world, perceptions change.

Salyer talks about a need for both "outreach" and "inreach" to serve offenders. Cunningham says that corrections staff are discouraged from leaving the facility, which keeps them from making these kinds of partnerships. She encouraged us to contact corrections staff and invite them to our meetings. Those of us on the workforce development side may have to take the first step.

Their partnership has produced a lengthy booklet that lists every professional license issued by the state, from wastewater treatment to the Alcohol Control Board, and how offenders might be barred from getting that license. They found all sorts of outdated and sometimes silly rules. The booklet provides info on what an ex-offender can do to get licensed – or re-licensed.

One member of the audience talked about a "mini-one-stop" they've set up inside their local jail. Another told about the local ex-offender support coalition that includes human services and workforce members, spearheaded by the city mayor. All of which means these partnerships are possible at different levels, and they do exist, if you know where to look.

During a break I chatted with V., a federal probation officer from Georgia. He has a caseload of 75-80 ex-offenders, and the new emphasis on workforce development in the re-entry process has given him new responsibilities. Now, in addition to supervising those offenders he’s also engaged in job development, reaching out to employers that might be interested in hiring his supervisees.

V. says one of his biggest problems is that outside of Atlanta, most of Georgia is rural. There just aren't very many employers out there, and they're physically dispersed. From this limited pool he looks for employers who are willing to give an ex-offender a second chance, but who won't take advantage of
the offender’s status and "treat him like a slave." At the same time, V. has to make sure the ex-offender he's working with is truly ready and qualified for the job.

V.'s supervisees experience enormous frustration when they have door after door after door slammed in their faces. One of them, a man with more than one violent offense on his record, recently came to him after being turned down by several potential employers, and said, "I've tried it your way, and it's not working." Which V. fears means he may be headed back his previous life.

In the afternoon I attended a session that included quite a lot on the Inmate Skills Development initiative. It's an effort by the Bureau of Prisons to create an online assessment and tracking tool that everyone in the system described below can use to follow the progress of a prisoner in the federal system. It's intended to provide a dynamic assessment in nine skills areas, generate an individualized skill development plan, provide a match between skill needs and high-risk inmates, and create a database of community resources. It looks somewhat similar to participant tools I've seen in the workforce development world. Most of the people in the room were federal prison employees, and there was a lot of interest in developing this tool. DonaLee Breazzano and Anne Cummins talked about how the tool will work, and said they expect it to be implemented in 2008.

The vast majority of people attending the Road to Re-entry conference are from somewhere in the federal prison system (Bureau of Prisons). Today I met people who work at every point in the system from pre-trial to parole and residential re-entry centers, and learned lots of new jargon. Let me break it down a bit here. Keep in mind, this is just the federal system. State prisons are another system entirely, and differ by state.

Pre-trial: Between the time when a person is arrested, and when they are convicted and sent off to serve time, that person is called a "defendant" and is in the "pre-trial" system. A person might be there a few weeks, a few months or even years. During that time, there are services to try and help that person get a job (if s/he isn't detained), or get a GED or other educational services. I met a teacher from Puerto Rico who teaches GED and ESL classes to defendants in pre-trial. One of her major challenges is that she never knows how long an individual will be in her class.

After being convicted the person moves into a federal prison. It might be a federal prison camp (minimum security), a federal correctional institution (low or medium), or a federal penitentiary (high). Inmates in federal prisons are required to work five days a week, either in service or maintenance jobs keeping the prison running, or at a UNICOR prison industry. Inmates are often required to attend educational and job prep classes. One goal is that offenders will leave prison with an "employment portfolio" which would include a resume, a cover letter, and the documents required for employment, such as a social security card. Apparently lack of these basic documents cause lots of problems for ex-offenders.

Ex-offenders are then passed on to the probation system, where they are supervised by a probation officer who helps them in their re-entry. Some prisoners may be housed for a time in a residential re-entry center (aka halfway house), where the goal is to have the ex-offender working on a job within fifteen days.

Several participants told me that federal prisons have always had programs to help prisoners plan for their re-entry into society, but that under President Bush the emphasis has shifted to a strong focus on employment. I also have the sense that partnerships between corrections and the workforce development system are limited and weak. Seems to me there are some opportunities here for both communities, if we can figure out how to cooperate and coordinate.

If any readers have corrections or improvements on my explanation here, please comment below.

Update March 9: I've corrected this post. Parole was abolished in the federal system by the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984.

Keynote speaker today at the Road to Re-entry conference was Frank Abagnale, perhaps better known as "the Catch Me If You Can guy." Mostly he told his personal story of impersonating a pilot and doctor, writing bad checks and one very clever trick involving a stack of bank deposit slips and a printer. Abagnale says the book was written and the film made without ever consulting him. Today he consults on issues of fraud with large banks, major corporations and governments around the world, along with the FBI.

"I was lucky to grow up in a country where you get a second chance," Abagnale said. He also emphasized the positive impact his parole officer had on him as a young man coming out of prison. Our willingness to give people a second chance is important, he said, but someone has to be there to give a person a helping hand.

The National Institute of Corrections recently published a new curriculum to train Offender Employment Specialists working in prisons. The OES: Building Bridges curriculum is designed not only to teach new skills and best practices in job placement and career development, but is also intended as a tool to bring together OES professionals throughout the corrections community, along with community-based organizations, faith-based organizations and workforce development professionals to build partnerships that will help defendents and offenders get and keep jobs after re-entry.

The training combines DVD and print materials with a live facilitator, and all the materials (except the live person!) are available for free. The full training would take three full days, or individual segments can be used for short trainings. Topics covered include pre-employment, job search, assessment, job development and job match. Experts in the field from policymakers to probation officers to CBO reps to prisoners give their insights in the videos. It's designed specifically for serving offenders, and addresses such topics as how to deal with questions about prison history when filling out job applications. This morning I was certified as an official facilitator for this training. I'll definitely be looking through the materials to see what I can use to help my clients.

It's sad but true - workforce development for ex-offenders is a growth industry. 650,000 people are released from prison every year, and one out of every 15 people in America will serve a prison sentence during their lifetime. With training and educational opportunities being cut back in prisons, people who entered without job skills will leave without them too. 68% of people who leave prison are re-arrested within three years. More stats on corrections are available at the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

I hope to learn lots at this conference to share with Workforce Developments readers. Check back soon for more.